6th E-mail Sent Before The Third Expedition
 

Date: April 13, 2000
 

Hello Adventurers !!!
 

This is the sixth (and probably last) e-mail (in a series) to help plan
and prepare for the
3rd Annual Tuckerman Ravine Hiking/Skiing Expedition...
 

O.K... if you saw the previous brief e-mail today you know we're "good
to go" at this point... I talked with two of the snow rangers this
morning and the weather and avalanche projections look good for a
Saturday assault on Tuckermans... and they even said the Sherburne ski
trail (the top half which is open) is a viable option... Sunday we may
get some rain but hopefully it will hold off till later in the day...
bring an emergency poncho or have a waterproof outer layer just in
case... and Sunday River is "anticipating" having 63 trails and 9 lifts
open this weekend across all 7 of their peaks...
 

Here's an interesting story about the guy who does the avalanche reports
for Tuckermans... check it out:

http://www.outdoors.org/Publications/Journal/brad-ray.html
 

Thanks to all who participated in our final training hike up and down
Bob's Hill (twice !!!) last Sunday... with the snow on the ground and
the howling winds it was about as close an approximation to hiking up
Mt. Washington as you can get in Maryland... Great job everyone !!!

Thanks to Bob Walker for offering to bring a cheapo red plastic sled !!!
Thanks to John Vranich for planning to carry it up for us to enjoy !!!
and Thanks to Bill Schrodel (you have to go with us next year Bill) for
lending us his pair of FRS radios !!! we'll have 4 radios on the
mountain which should be great for keeping us together and safe...

For people flying tomarrow, I'll plan to be near or in line at the
Southwest ticket counter at BWI by 10:45 AM (1.5 hours before our
flight)... I'd suggest you be there then too (it can take some time to
get through whatever line they may have to check skis and baggage)... if
we don't all meet up at the counter look for each other at the gate...
remember that Southwest passes out numbered cards (to see who gets first
choice of seats) and I think you don't get the cards until you check in
at the gate so we may run down there as soon as we get our baggage
checked so we can get a low number...

For people arriving later Friday night, we'll leave a message at the
desk if the group goes out to eat somewhere (probably across the street
from the motel) or if there are any other change of plans...

If any people are planning to arrive Saturday morning, we'll probably
leave the Royalty Inn parking lot by 8:00AM and probably be starting the
hike from the Pinkham Notch vistors center by 8:45AM so if you don't
catch us either of those places, look for us in the bowl (it's not so
huge a place that you won't be able to find someone you know)
 

Here are direction to the Royalty Inn (from Interstate 93):

Take I-93 North to Franconia Notch.
Go past the "Old Man of the Mountain" rock formation.
Then take Exit 35 (Route 3N).
Follow Route 3N untill you come to a right hand turn onto Route 115N.
Stay on Route 115N until you come to a stop sign.
Take a right hand turn onto Route 2E.
Stay on Route 2E, approximately 15 minutes.
Once in the town of Gorham the Royalty Inn will be on your left hand
side.
 

Here's a rooming list for the Royalty Inn:

Room 110: Allen Black, Bob Sagusti    (a.k.a. headquarters)
Room 109: Mark Miller, Stuart Miller  (a.k.a. party headquarters)
Room 106: Laura Gabanski, Anne-Marie Shipley
Room 111: C.T. Edwards, Greg Clark
Room 114: Brian Skrenta, Bob Walker
Room 154: Barb Vogel, Brian Vogel
Room 254: Kim Vogel, Kim's friend
Room 165: Kathi Durning, Kathy's friend
????????: John Vranich
 

Here's a list of things to bring... I'm sure it's not complete... use
common and cautious sense to fill in the blanks...

THE LIST:
[obvious stuff]
    skis
    ski boots
    ski poles
    sunglasses or ski goggles
    backpack
    bungee cords  (for attaching skis to pack)
    water bottles (at least 2 quarts)
    food          (powerbars, granola bars, etc.)
    money
[clothes]
    parka/jacket/shell
    gloves
    thick socks
    extra pair of socks
    hiking boots (waterproofed and broken in)
    hat
    "wicking" long underwear
    "layered" clothes (things you can add and subtract
                        as you get hot or cold)
[miscellaneous - optional but better safe than sorry]
    camera and film
    sunscreen
    moleskin
    first-aid kit
    swiss army knife or multi-tool
    cheapo emergency parka (if your outer shell clothing
                            isn't completely waterproof)
    mylar space blanket
    emergency whistle
    small flashlight
    lighter or matches
    cheapo plastic sled
    FRS 2-way radio
    cell phone          (does anyone know if they work on
                         Mt. Washington ?)
 

Following is a list where I've attempted to figure out who's going and
who's not... if I have you misclassified please let me know ASAP... if I
haven't heard from you in awhile please let me know what you're
planning... and if you've made reservations and are "100% go" let me
know that too... Thanks !!!

Note: All times are for Friday April 14 and at this point everyone
      is planning to stay at the Royalty Inn.

WILL BE THERE:
Allen Black         (flying , at Royalty Inn by 4:30PM, room 110)
Bob Sagusti         (flying , at Royalty Inn by 4:30PM, room 110)
Mark Miller         (flying , at Royalty Inn by 4:30PM, room 109)
Stuart Miller       (flying , at Royalty Inn by 4:30PM, room 109)
Laura Gabanski      (flying , at Royalty Inn by 4:30PM, room 106)
Brian Skrenta       (flying , at Royalty Inn by 4:30PM, room 114)
Greg Clark          (flying , at Royalty Inn by 4:30PM, room 111)
Brian Vogel         (driving, at Royalty Inn by 4:30PM, room 154)
Barb Vogel          (driving, at Royalty Inn by 4:30PM, room 154)
Kim Vogel           (driving, at Royalty Inn by ??????, room 254)
Kim's friend        (driving, at Royalty Inn by ??????, room 254)
Anne-Marie Shipley  (driving, at Royalty Inn by 9:30PM, room 106)
C.T. Edwards        (driving, at Royalty Inn by 4:30PM, room 111)
Bob Walker          (driving, at Royalty Inn by 9:00PM, room 114)
Kathi Durning       (driving, at Royalty Inn by ??????, room 165)
Kathi's friend      (driving, at Royalty Inn by ??????, room 165)
John Vranich        (driving, staying at                  ??????)

PROBABLY NOT, HAVEN'T HEARD FOR SURE:
Beth Goan                        (driving ???)
Carl Cherwek                     (driving ???)
Paul Gewirtz                     (driving ???)
Rich Vrabel                      (flying  ???)
Dave Strack & Sons               (flying  ???)
Lara ??? (from EMS in Annapolis) (flying  ???)

NOT THIS YEAR, MAYBE NEXT YEAR:
Michael Lutz
Carmen Lane
Darrell ??? (Carmen's friend)
Ilene Reilly
Aimee Newhall
Jeff Vogel
Mary Dunlay
Bud Cavanaugh "The Snowboarder"
John Basille
Mike Axelsson
Bill Schrodel
 

That's all for now... As always if if you have any questions feel free
to e-mail or call me... and don't forget to check out the website at

http://members.home.net/ablack/tucks3.html

for pictures, information, and links to relevant sites with even more
information (like travel reservations, weather, and avalance
forecasts)...
 

See Ya (Real) Soon,
Allen